A Rider's Tale: Dauthgarm
by Dauthgarm
Summary: Dauthgarm is an elf of Ellesmera, but when his friend is accidentally killed, he acts out and murders the killer in cold blood. He is worried that the elves in Du Weldenvarden will banish him so he flees to Teirm to avoid that fate, and begin another.
1. Prologue

I am an elf. A pirate. An assassin. A Dragon Rider. I've done many things in the 126 years of my life. Some I am proud of. Others, I am ashamed of. I've killed a shade and did Alagaësia a great good by doing so, but I've also killed innocents in cold blood. They never deserved to die. Things like that weigh heavily on me in both good and bad ways. My past has never been properly shared before. Eragon knows some things about me, more than most. Cael also knows much about me, more than Eragon, truth be told. However, none know me better than Valinor, my dragon and closest friend.

If you know anything of the Riders, then it is probably their role as peace keepers. However, no one gives the dragon any credit. Many consider them to just be a dumb animal, but they are much more than that. Their wisdom surprises even we elves. Another thing not known about the Riders is that their dragon is more than a pet that is larger than a house. Our connection with our dragon goes so deep that our minds melt together until we seem nearly like one being. An elf who becomes a rider will seem more violent than a normal elf and a Rider's dragon will be like a small kitten when placed next to a wild one. That is because the connection is not just in our minds; it is in our very being. We cannot bear to separate for we feel as though a part of us is missing and perhaps that is because there is. My experience supports that thought.

It is actually Valinor that has convinced me to take my quill and place my story upon parchment. He has convinced me it is time that the other Riders deserve to know me better than they do now. He argues it is only fair. After all, I am the first Rider to graduate under Eragon's tutelage since he left Alagaësia. That means I act as his messenger to the world and assist him in teaching the small number of other Riders that arrived after me. I believe Valinor is right. My students should know who I am. Perhaps the world will someday. Until then though, I will write my story here, to the best of my memory. Valinor may need to help in some cases but the rest will be my story. To make this text easier to read , I have translated the Ancient Language and Dwarvish into the tongue of the humans but I may keep some phrases and names in their original form to give you, the reader, an idea of what the languages sound like. When this done, I provide a translation shortly after.


	2. Chapter 1

I will start this book by describing myself at the age of 30. My name is Dauthgarm Medh Blödarget which is the Ancient Language for Death-Wolf with Silver Blood. I am an elf so, like all elves, I have very angular features in contrast to the human's rather boring round ones. I had long black hair that fell past my shoulders and some very pointy ears. My eyebrows grew to sharp points at the ends and there was not a smooth curve to be found on them. My tunic and leggings were of elven make; you could not tell whether they were green or brown. They were very soft, light, and comfortable but they had lasted me all 30 years of my life, that is to say, the point in time that this book starts. My boots went halfway up my lower legs and were made of very, soft brown leather. I could walk at a normal pace in them and you would not hear me coming. To summarize this description, I could have said I looked like most elves in Du Weldenvarden, but I was unique. My eyes set me apart. While the other elves mainly had green or brown eyes, mine were grey. You may even say that they were silver.

I will start this book at the point in my life when I called myself a 30 year old elf. That age may seem old to a human but elves live longer. Much longer. At this point, I was considered to still be a child, someone in need of teaching and sheltering. I had all the wisdom of a 30 year old human plus the wisdom taught to me by my elven tutors. Many humans would consider me to be wiser than my years, but that was not the case. I was not very respecting of authority nor was my friend, Kveykva Eldkodthr, or Lightning Catcher, in this tongue. The two of us never performed a task immediately after it was given to us. Instead, we would run around Ellesméra, the elves' capital city, and cause trouble. Else, we would go exploring the forest of Du Weldenvarden, The Guarding Forest; home of our race. That was a dangerous pastime for Du Weldenvarden was, and still is, filled ancient spells and creatures both peaceful and aggressive. This lack of discipline meant that we were only respected by those that had the same attitude as us; not very many in our very peaceful cities. We were often looked upon as being dumb or silly because most elves our age were still content to watch and listen to their elders. Kveykva and I had grown out of that stage of an elf's life much sooner than any other elf in history to our knowledge. We wanted to be independent as soon as possible.

It seems childish to me now and many of our elders perceived it that way, but we thought of ourselves as adults. We always tried to be as independent as possible in any way we could. That meant we would arrive at lessons when we were ready rather than the time given us by the teacher. Despite this, we did not treat all elves like this. We treated Islanzadí Dröttning (Queen) as we should, like royalty. The elven Lords and Ladies of Du Weldenvarden also received our utmost respect and our mentors received almost as much. Kveykva and I had each had a mentor, someone to guide us in our lives and help us discover how we wished to spend our extremely long lifetimes. My mentor was an older elf by the name of Oromis. I did not know his exact age but he was centuries old. That was certain. I never met Kveykva's mentor. All I knew was that she was called Invidia and was a much practiced spell caster.

At the moment my book begins, Oromis and I were preforming a training exercise. He stood in the middle of a clearing, whistling. My task was to approach him without being seen and then put myself into a position where I would certainly be able to kill him. I was not allowed to use my bow, just my knife. The goal was to see how my hunting skills had progressed. This seemed an odd task for an elf that, like nearly all elves, does not eat meat, but it was a welcome challenge. Hunting was something that I enjoyed doing and when your prey was an 800 or 900 year old elf, the fun was increased greatly. I started from the edge of Ellesméra. Oromis had said that he was about an hour's walk from the city but he had not told me exactly where. I began to move in the direction I had seen him depart in a few hours ago. He had made a small effort to hide his tracks but I found them quite quickly after setting off.

After a half hour of traveling, I spotted the clearing through the trees. I dropped to a crouch and began making my forward, trying remain quite while at the same time keeping my speed. When I had gotten within earshot, I lay down on my stomach and began to crawl. At this point, I was worried about noise, not speed. An elf has very sensitive hearing and can hear even the smallest whisper from a fair 20 to 30 meters away. It was this natural ability of Oromis and myself that made this challenge very hard. I crawled as quickly as I dared until I reached the edge of the clearing. Oromis had his back to me but before I could think of a plan for attack, he began a slow spin to look around for any sight of me. I flattened myself as much as I could and held my breath. As Oromis turned in my direction, I worried that he might spot me. My clothes odd green-brown coloring did what it was meant to do. It could match the color of nearly any plant in Du Weldenvarden and this clearing was no exception to that fact. Oromis continued to turn past me then finally away from me. I continued to hold my breath as I slowly drew my knife from its sheath on my belt. I slowly rose once he had his back to me again and then crept forward towards him. I reached out with both hands, the knife held upright, blade toward me in my right hand. With one swift movement, I grabbed his mouth with my left hand and held the knife to his throat with my right. It was only now that I finally dared to exhale.

I held him in front of me like that for a few seconds then asked, "How was I this time?" in the Ancient Language. I released him and he took a breath before he answered.

"Better, but I still heard you coming. That turn I did was to try and spot you but I never did. If you got anything perfect, it was how you were able to hide from me at that small a distance." He too spoke the Ancient Language. It is the elves' native tongue so to say I was fluent would be to say the least.

"I will try to remain quieter next time", I responded.

"No, you will not try. You WILL be quieter next time."

"Yes, Oromis-elda", I said, using the honorific, elda, to show respect.

"Dauthgarm! Islanzadí Dröttning is selecting the elves that will watch the woodsmen when they come for the lumber." I turned to see Kveykva running toward me, his bow and quiver slung across his back, silver hair streaming in the wind. An elf running is a sight to see. We can outrun a horse and keep that pace for over half the day. We can jog at a human's top speed for nearly two and not need to stop except to catch our breath and eat meals. Kveykva and I always wanted to travel to the edge of the forest to watch the humans when they came to collect lumber from the fringes of Du Weldenvarden. If I had to choose a favorite topic from our studies, it would be the humans. They seem so similar to us and are in many ways but some of their traditions seem strange to me. I am quite sure they think the same of us, perhaps more so than I thought at the time. Nearly every elf in Du Weldenvarden can use magic. Magic and humans, however, do not go well together. They rarely produce a magician and as a result, they seem to be afraid of magic. Many believe it is just a fairy tale. Those same people are the ones that don't believe elves exist either. Those are the reasons we wanted to go. We believed that seeing the woodsmen and perhaps even talking with them would allow us to learn more about the humans than our books would allow. A more accurate reason, though, is that we thought it would be humorous to see the humans react to us and even a small amount of magic. And this year, was the first year we believed Islanzadí would allow us to go.

I turned back to Oromis. "With your permission, I wish to leave early that I might be allowed to attend this meeting and go see the humans in person."

Oromis thought for a moment before replying. "While your classes are important, I believe you could learn more from the humans if you spoke with them rather than continue to read about them here. You have my permission but you must only observe if you go. Learn their ways of life and tongue before speaking to them."

I thanked Oromis and turned to leave with Kveykva. We walked until we left earshot and then broke into a run to get back to Ellesméra in time for the selection. We ran through the woods as fast as we could and still hope to avoid low branches. I found myself leading Kveykva as we ran. Normally, despite my attitude toward authority, I actually avoided leading anything. I did not handle public speaking well, but in this case, running with Kveykva, I saw the benefit of being in front. I was able to see branches and dodge them quite easily but Kveykva had his vision blocked by my backside. He would have but moments to duck under a branch or jump over a rock. In this case, I was glad to be leading.

We arrived in Ellesméra nearly as fresh as when we had started the run and spirits were high. I stopped at my house to get a small loaf of bread and my bow before we continued to Islanzadí's hall where the meeting was to take place. A few elves had already gathered but their number grew as the moments passed. Finally, Islanzadí herself came out and walked to the middle of the small crowd. Everyone murmured their greetings and preformed the traditional elven greeting: touching your lips and then twisting your right hand over your sternum. It was only after this that Islanzadí addressed the group.

"I believe you know why I called this meeting. We need to select the elves to go and oversee the human woodsmen who come to take the wood from the edge of our forest. We ask very little of these humans. One. They must not stray too deep into the forest. Dangerous things reside here. Things that not even we elves, we who consider this our home, know about. Two. They must only cut the trees we allow them too. The trees here are special. They have borne witness to many powerful acts of magic. They may yet be able to teach us about the world through their simple beauty. To cut down such a tree would be nothing short of murder and anyone that breaks this rule will be treated as such. That is why the elves that go must be able to show the woodsmen the regular trees that reside at the edge of the forest. You may volunteer to go when you are ready."

I looked around. Some of the elves around us had stepped forward and presented their weapons to Islanzadí. Kveykva and I looked at each other and then stepped forward and drew our bows from their pouches. We held them out to Islanzadí to show her we were ready.

"No", she said. "You have much to learn, and while you may be more than capable of handling the humans, I am worried that your inexperience in interacting with them would cost us our relation with the woodsmen."

Kveykva looked as though he were about to argue but he held is tongue. "Yes, Islanzadí Dröttning" we murmured. I reached out with my mind until I found Kveykva's consciousness. I immediately felt his anger at not being chosen. A flurry of thoughts collided with mine and mixed until I felt the same as he. We replaced our bows across our backs and returned to the group. As we waited for Islanzadí to finish addressing those that had been selected, we exchanged furious thoughts as to why we could not go.

_I thought we could go this time, _came Kveykva's voice in my head. When I found his mind with mine, it not only allowed us to share feelings, but thoughts and memories as well. It was even possible to take control of someone in this manner if you were strong enough or to dig through their memories. This could be very painful and humans have been known to go mad when they delved too deep into an elf's mind. Kveykva and I only used it to communicate without being heard.

_I believed that Oromis' permission meant we had a good chance, _I replied. As the chosen elves began to depart, an idea forced its way into my thoughts. I suggested it to Kveykva. _We could follow them. If we did not allow ourselves to be seen, then we could observe the humans like Oromis suggested._

_ But if they see us?_

_ I would have to think of something but if we do follow them, they leave in an hour. We should be ready._

_ I don't know. It seems very risky._

_ That's because it is. I consider the risk worth the learning we could achieve._

_ I do not think it wise to go. I think that I will remain here._

_ Very well. I'll go._

_ What should I say to Oromis when he notices your absence?_

_ Nothing. He does not know that I was told to stay. I'm going to leave today. I'll see you when I return?_

_ Of course. _I sensed Kveykva's unease over what I wanted to do but I ignored it. If this went as I had planned, then it would be the learning experience of a lifetime. I gazed into his deep green eyes and he stared back. I blinked, then withdrew our mental link and turned to leave with the other elves as they returned to their homes then adjusted my path to take me home so that I could pack.


	3. Chapter 2

My house was on the Southern edge of Ellesméra. It was like all the houses in the city; built into a tree and so well done that you had to look hard to spot it. Anyone that knew nothing of our house style could walk right through the center of Ellesméra and not know it. We build them by singing the instructions of how to grow to the trees in the Ancient Language. This means we can make a house without ever having to chop down a tree for its wood. I sung my house out of this tree myself rather than take an existing house. There were many empty homes in Ellesméra since The Fall because many of our race were killed in that conflict or simply never returned.

I stepped through the front door and gazed around. I could not help but be proud of the house. It opened to a very wide hallway that extended to the very back of the pine tree, about 10 meters away. At the middle of the hallway were two doorways on either side. They did not have actual doors in them because I lived alone and did not concern myself with unnecessary measures to block unwanted eyes as there were none here. The wall at the end of the hallway had a small window that revealed a small pond I used for bathing and for just swimming. On the right of the window was a ladder that led to the second floor where I mainly kept my things. On the walls were fairths, a portrait of sorts created by magic. I had made a few of them but most had been given to me as gifts. I walked into the room on the right. Inside was a low bed that had been filled with leaves found around the area. It was quite comfortable as was the pillow which had been stuffed with various bird feathers I found while exploring Du Weldenvarden. I placed my bow and quiver down in the corner by the head of the bed. I always made sure to keep my weapons close by. Living on the edge of Ellesméra meant that you were always watching for the odd creatures created by the magic that thrived here. They had been known to enter houses at night and most that did this did not want to leave peacefully.

After I had unstrung and stored my bow, I went to the room across the hall. Here was where I kept most of my food and a mirror of polished steel for various reasons, one of which was to monitor my appearance. Elves are very conscious of this and quite often use magic to alter themselves to represent their idea of beauty. I rarely used this mirror except when I fixed my hair after bathing but I liked having it there. I grabbed a sack that came up to my knee and began packing various fruits, vegetables, and breads. Once that was done, I took a flagon and filled it outside from the pond. I also packed a wooden cup and bowl so that I could eat and drink more comfortably.

After they had been packed I climbed the ladder to where my clothes and other trinkets were stored. There were many things here and each one had a story. Among the general mess could be found scrolls, parchment, various bird feathers, some skins taken from a shortly dead animal found in the forest, interesting stones, and odd bits of other debris. I walked over to a large chest by a bookshelf covered in scrolls and a few leather bound books and opened it. Inside were some more tunics and pants like the ones I was currently wearing and a dark brown cloak. I pulled it out and pushed a spare pair of boots that had caught on it back in. I held it up in the light from one of the two windows in the rooms. It was made from the pelt of a massive brown bear that had been killed when it fell out of one of the hundred meter tall pines that made up most of Du Weldenvarden. It had pained me to skin it for I had watched it fall but I had convinced myself I needed the leather to make a quiver. When I got home, I instead fashioned it into a cloak because my mother had given me a quiver very soon after my return. It was the one I currently used.

I returned to the lower level and placed everything I had packed so far by the front door. I placed the cloak on top of the pile then returned to my bedroom for my bow. I picked it up and took a moment to admire it. I had sung it from a tree when I was about 15. It came up just over my waist when placed on the ground and could easily be placed over my back or removed quickly if needed. It had a raised design of a vine that looked as though it grew and twisted around it. It nearly looked like a living vine that had grown there when the bow was forgotten outside for a month or two. It formed a very comfortable grip and had a groove to help guide the arrow when I fired it. In the 15 years I had used it, it had never failed me, nor did I think it would for many years to come.

I returned to the pile in the doorway and took a moment to ensure I had all that I would need to make the trip. I decided that I had indeed packed everything I felt was necessary. I donned the pack and the cloak over it. I put my quiver and bow over my shoulder to complete my preparations to leave. The weight of it was comforting, it made me feel safer and I soon began to become less unsure of my decision. I stepped outside and checked that no one was watching. The city appeared empty. No doubt, everyone went to see the chosen elves off. They would be leaving the forest to the West and South, stopping the small elven city of Osilon. I decided to head south to within a mile of the edge of Du Weldenvarden then head west. I hoped this method of travel would keep me enough away from the others so as not to be spotted, but also allow me to avoid falling behind.

I turned to my left and checked the position of the sun. It was nearly reaching the very top of the sky. It may have been midday but I was afforded the assurance that it had not yet reached noon. I kept the sun to my left and set off down the path. I never let my head nor eyes rest. I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one followed or saw me and also made sure to closely watch the forest ahead. Many an elf found the forest that fringed Ellesméra to be a peaceful place in which they could rest or pursue their interests. Luck was with me today and I had soon made it a mile from the city. At this point, I began to run. My load only slowed me a little so I was able to make good time. By the end of the day, I had made 40 miles. I knew that the others would travel slower as there were 10 of them but not by much. I came to the conclusion that they had probably made it about 35 miles today if they had traveled by foot.

That did not leave me much of a lead. I made up my mind to try and cover more ground tomorrow. I made camp and ate a meal of a few pieces of bread, an apple, and got a long drink of water. I considered the distance I had yet to travel and tried to decide whether I could reach the woodsmen before the others or not. I finally figured that I would make at the same time as they, perhaps a few hours later. This thought reassured me I could make it before the woodsmen left and have time to observe them. I fell into my "waking dream" as Eragon has called it and allowed my thoughts to wander freely. Everything I dreamed of spoke of confidence in my journey and decision but I could not shake a feeling of foreboding that grew with each passing hour.

I opened my eyes and sat up the moment I felt the first rays of sunlight hit my face. Through the night, I had managed to quell my fear of the path ahead and I was feeling well rested for the day's travel. I rolled up my cloak and stuffed it into my pack then I retrieved my knife from its location by my head. I still did not feel safe here. The creatures I feared populated these areas more than most as they tried to avoid the elves. That meant that instead of one, I could run into an entire pack. I heaved my pack onto my back then glanced around to ensure I had not left anything. Satisfied I was ready, I struck out southward, toward the edge of Du Weldenvarden.

I kept my bow strung and my quiver loose. I felt confident I could bring down an animal intending me harm from a distance but I wished to avoid a hand to hand confrontation. Getting injured could prove fatal this far from Ellesméra, considering that Kveykva was the only other elf besides myself that knew I had left. I soon found a pace that was comfortable but also allowed for miles to be travelled quickly. It probably matched that of a human sprinting but it felt more like a trot to me. I watched the tall pine trunks go by me and listened to the sounds of birds startled by my passing. I could only assume they were frightened by my sudden appearance. I was treading so lightly that they could not have heard me.

By midday, I had travelled about 20 to 25 miles. I decided to turn west here so that I could avoid the elven town of Kirtan. I had never travelled this far from Ellesméra before so I stopped for a few minutes for meal and to see what lay ahead. I ate more bread and cheese with a few carrots then scaled a nearby spruce. It reached above the pines around it, a sign I was nearing the edge of Du Weldenvarden. I gazed out across the sea of tree tops and stared in wonder at the beauty of it. Birds flitted from branch to branch while hawks circled something in the distance. The sun lit was beginning to set so it made it a little difficult for me to see any further than 20 miles but I was able to see the low peaks of some small mountains in the south western part of Du Weldenvarden. To south, I could see a place where the trees began to thin. Beyond that, though I could not see it, lay the Hadarac Desert, a place equal in size to Du Weldenvarden and nearly impossible to live in.

I climbed down the spruce and then collected my things. I again set off to the west, being careful to remain in the shadows. My eyes are more sensitive to light than a human's so I did my best to hide the sun. I often used my hand to shield them or walked with a tree between myself and the sun's rays. It was no easy task. The sun was setting fast to my front and very soon, was so low, that I could do nothing about it. I simply squinted and avoided looking right at it. I even began walk sideways or even backward when I was sure the path was clear ahead. By nightfall, I had made another 30 miles. I had hoped to get 40 but the sun had slowed me considerably.

I made camp in the foothills of the mountains I had seen earlier in the day. I pondered whether I should attempt to go over or around them. In the end, I decided that they weren't big enough to make going around any faster than going over. I calculated that I could make it over tomorrow then make it to the woodsmen's camp a day and a half later. I curled up under my cloak and prepared to again greet my dreams. Just before I slipped off, the feeling of foreboding returned, only stronger this time. It kept me active for a while longer but my body soon began to rest and I managed to steer my thoughts away to more comforting places.

I rose the next morning just after sunrise and immediately began planning how I was to scale the mountain. I stared hard at it for nigh on half an hour before I finally found a path that led to the top. I collected my pack and set off through the hills toward the base of the mountain. The path to the top was quite easy to travel on and I had soon made it nearly halfway. It was at this point I noticed what appeared to be a cave just alongside the path I was following. I made my way up to and peered in. It was very dark inside. Even my elven eyes could only see about 10 meters in. It was impossible to tell how deep it went. I had left my sword at my house in Ellesméra because it would have made hiding from the other elves difficult. This cave was too small to allow my bow to be useful and I felt that my knife would allow a creature close enough to do me serious harm. I resolved to explore the cave some other time; a time with my sword in hand and Kveykva by my side.

I left the entrance to the cave and continued along the path until I had reached the summit. From here, I could see for miles. To my horror, I saw that the other elves could have made the trip in three days. I was midway through the third and I still had one and a half more days to go before I reached the woodsmen's camp. I began running as fast as my feet could carry me, down the mountain and into the forest beyond. When night came, I was nearly 10 miles from the foot of the mountain. I did not stop to sleep as I had the other nights. I instead continued my furious pace through the dark woods. By midnight, I was beginning the feel tired and hungry but I pushed on, slowing only a little.

By morning, I was feeling very weary. I stopped just long enough to regain my breath and eat a small meal. I started off again at a lighter pace for my legs still hurt from the night's running. The day seemed to pass at a quicker pace than was natural and I often wondered if the sun moved faster, or I, slower. My fears were soon washed away for I came within sight of the woodsmen's camp a mere half hour before sunset. I scouted around the area as quietly as possible to search for a place to make camp. I finally found a small clearing about a mile from the woodmen's camp or simply, The Wood Camp, as they called it. I was slightly concerned that a stray woodcutter would stumble upon my camp so I built up a low wall from the surrounding vegetation. My hope was that the elves would keep the woodcutters close to Wood Camp and in turn, away from my location.

I waited for the moon to rise before I finally left my own camp. I crept from the clearing and cautiously made my way to within hearing distance of Wood Camp. Rather than enter, I moved in a circle around the camp to try and learn its layout and find where Islanzadí's elves were staying. The eastern side of camp, the side I had started at, had four low, wooden buildings arranged as if along some narrow street. The buildings on the right faced those on the left and each had a small porch covered in little scraps of wood and tiny wood shavings. I noticed that buildings were very crudely made even when compared to our own buildings of this style. It was quite obvious that humans could not use magic the way we did to sing houses and tools from trees. I remembered that Oromis had once told me that very few humans could use magic and those few could barely use it except perhaps one or two. The woodcutters clearly did not have such a human among their ranks.

I continued to move around the camp to the north, taking great care not to awaken anyone inside. Along the northern edge were two large canvas tents. The flaps were drawn shut so I could not determine what their use was. I moved off toward the western edge. Here, there lay a massive clearing. My best guess was that this was where the trees they cut down were stored. Finally, the southern edge had a large wooden building. This was the only part of camp that was lit. Light from numerous torches spilled out from its many windows and the cracks in the front door. If I listened, I could make out snatches of conversation but I could not understand what was being said. I moved closer until I was directly behind the building. From here, the sounds of many male voices came clear through the night air but I still could not understand them. I suddenly realized that they were speaking another language. Oromis had tried teaching it to me but Kveykva and I never retained the words in our heads as we were too busy having fun in town.

One voice was raised high above the others. He was giving a speech of some kind I did not understand his words. I cursed my lack of knowledge about the human's language and I swore to myself that I would learn the human's tongue to the best of my ability. This oath was sworn in the Ancient Language, the only language I knew. It could never be broken until I believed with all of my heart that I had l fulfilled it. My thoughts were interrupted with the opening of the door to the large building. A tall, lean figure walked out and shut the door behind him. For a brief moment, the voices within came clear as day. They were all drunk. I did not have to know what was said to understand that. The door shut with a bang and the tall figure stood on the porch. It gazed out across the camp. I warily moved around the building get a better view. It became clear that the figure had needed to duck to go through the door of the building. I froze as the door opened again. Another tall figure stooped through the doorway and closed it behind themselves. The person straightened and stood next to the first. They both stood there for a while but I was not able to see their faces. The light from the windows of the building prevented this. The first one finally spoke.

"They are crazy. It is a wonder that they are still living." My heart jumped at the utterance of the Ancient Language. These two were elves.

"Calm yourself, there is no need for such talk. They have travelled hard to get here and deserve a rest before they begin work tomorrow."

"They only need travel 60 miles to reach this place. I could do that in a single day"

"You only reference those that came from Gil'ead. The ones from Yazuac had to travel 100 miles. They cannot run as fast as we can either." The first was silent for a few moments.

"They had horses."

"Even a horse cannot travel as far as we can at full speed. It and its rider must stop and rest often." They said no more for nearly an hour. From inside the building came snatches of singing and laughter. Finally, the second elf spoke. "Let us sleep. You forget we have travelled far to get here as well." With that, the two elves strode off to the two tents I had seen earlier.

I waited for some time, not daring to move. The elves would make further exploration difficult. They could see and hear as well as I could and had been tasked by Islanzadí to guard the woodsmen and their camp from the many creatures in Du Weldenvarden. They would be vigilant. I crept back to my small camp and prepared to rest. As I lay there, a small noise made itself known to me. I glanced around but did not see anything. The noise came again, a sort of scuffling sound. I sat up and listened. The sound came from my left, away from the camp. I crouched and grabbed my knife then began to make my way toward the source of the noise. I moved cautiously until the noise sounded like it came from no more than 10 feet to my front. I began to circle what appeared to be the location the noise emanated from: a small bush. I completed the lap without seeing anything.

I cast out with my mind to see what was inside. This close to Alagaësia, there were no creatures capable of stealing your mind, like deeper in Du Weldenvarden, but I still let my thoughts move out slowly and prepared to retract them if necessary. Inside, I found not one, but two beings. Their thoughts were primitive and tiny, like a child's. I physically moved toward the bush. The creatures within remained ignorant to my presence. I slowly pulled apart the branches and could not help but smile at what lay before me.

Two young bear cubs were fighting with each other in the center of the bush. They began to squeal when they saw me but their thoughts told me that they were squeals of joy. They left me with the impression that they considered me to be their mother. I held out my hand to them and let them attack it. Presently, I began to fight back. This only encouraged them to bite me harder so I pulled my hand back before they got the chance. I sat and watched them for some time before they finally grew sleepy and dozed off. I wondered what had happened to the mother bear as I sat there. This land was no stranger to hunters. She may have been killed not very long ago and these two had yet to miss her. I decided to rest by the two cubs that night, in case they needed help. I lay down and kept my senses alert. Even in my sleep, I could still hear and smell nearly as well as I could when awake. It was as close to sleeping with my eyes open as I could get.

Nothing happened that night. The cubs woke only once but fell asleep quite soon after and I with them. The morning came cool and bright. I awoke with a jolt for I had slept longer than I intended. I sat up and pulled my hair out from my eyes. I slowly looked around for the cubs and discovered them a short distance away. They were still wrestling and fussing over some small object on the ground. I stood and walked over to them. Before I had even made it half way however, a low growl halted me. I looked past the cubs and spotted a huge bear staring right at me. I backed away slowly and began to collect my things. The bear rose to its feet and began to roar out a challenge to me. I knew the elves at the Wood Camp would surely hear it and even come to investigate. I snatched up the last item on the ground, my quiver, and sprinted right at the bear. I leapt onto a log and used it to vault over the bear's head. It snatched at me but it only grasped air. I hit the ground and began sprinting away as fast I could.

The bear roared again but I was far away; too far for it to catch me. I continued running for a few miles before stopping to rearrange my gear. Once that was done, I decided to return to Ellesméra. The elves would be highly vigilant and there was no way I could hide from them. The return trip remained uneventful and I made it back to Ellesméra unnoticed. I resolved to never return to Wood Camp until I had learned the human's tongue. Here, Valinor breaks in.

_What you mean to say is that you planned on returning next year._

_How was I supposed to know how complex their language was?_

_You heard it. Even those small phrases were too difficult for you to even guess at a meaning then. It was only until two years later you learned what they meant._

_At least I learned it._

_It took you five years._

_Don't remind me. _He then sent me memories he had learned from myself of all the time I spent trying to learn their language. I simply shut him out. After all, those were my memories, not his. That, and I had a young Rider waiting upon me to help teach them how to fight with a sword. It is here that I take my leave to help him and return to the pen later.


End file.
